ABSTRACT
Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization(TACE) was performed in a 61 year old male patient with hepatocellular carcinoma with 10 cc of Lipiodol and 50 mg of doxorubicin. Three days later, he complained of dyspnea and dry cough. The arterial blood gas study revealed moderate hypoxemia and hypocarbia. The chest PA showed acute pulmonary edema with bilateral pleural effusion. To rule out the possibilities of acute respiratory failure caused by infection, pulmonary embolism or congestive heart failure, we performed several laboratory studies. The blood and sputum culture studies revealed negative results for bacterial growth. The echocardiogram was normal. The abdominal CT scan and MR imaging revealed no thrombus or mass lesion in the inferior vena cava. So we concluded pulmonary oil embolism induced by lipiodol as the cause of acute lung injury. Four weeks later, clinical symptoms and chest x-ray were markedly improved with conservative care. We report a case of acute lung injury after TACE with lipiodol and doxorubicin, with review of literatures.